BY MINAS STYPONIAS
The job of a real estate professional, in my opinion, is to give a cold to his clients. This isn’t to say that a real estate agent will infect his clients with viruses and infections. This is an entirely different type of a cold.
ACCOLD is the acronym for the fiduciary responsibilities that a real estate professional is obligated to provide their clients, from first substantive contact.
ACCOLD can be broken down into accounting, care, confidentiality, obedience, loyalty and disclosure. These fiduciary duties are the backbone to choosing a long-term relationship with a real estate professional.
Each are equally important to receive and each are equally important to produce. However, my personal opinion is that “care” is the most all-encompassing and powerful component of all these duties.
All too often individuals get into the real estate business in the hopes of becoming the next Fredrik Eklund or the next Ryan Serhant from TV’s Million Dollar Listing New York, all the while focusing on the income potential rather than the passion, effort and care that it takes to get there. They want the money to roll in but often lack the caring personality to create that potential for themselves.
As a property owner or renter you are entitled to receive the utmost in care from your selected real estate agent.
It is my opinion that the care a real estate professional provides to their client will transcend all the other fiduciary responsibilities and provide a true barometer of what they think of you as a client and of your property as a product.
A true professional, in my opinion, will relieve their client of all the mundane and tedious portions of their real estate transactions and provide them with the necessary care to keep them informed, educated and enlightened throughout the process.
As a lessor, it is my belief that your real estate agent should be photographing your property, marketing your property, conducting weekly site visits of your property, providing suggestions on increasing income potential on your property and providing you with constant communication on their prospects or lack thereof. As a lessee, it is my belief that your real estate agent should be conducting all the searching of prospective properties, all the inspections of prospective properties and constantly communicating to you with their findings or lack thereof.
The agent who performs these duties, in my opinion, is not only demonstrating their passion for their respective career but also demonstrating their professionalism and care for you as a client.
In closing, if you’re not catching ACCOLD from your real estate agent then I suggest you give them a cold shoulder and seek alternative representation. Remember no one cares for your property as much as you do, but a good realtor will come in a close second and leave you feeling like they were more a part of your endeavor than another roadblock in the road to completing your real estate goals.
Gazuntite!
Minas Styponias is a licensed real estate broker for BuySell Real Estate in Astoria, where he was born and raised. He has had a career as a luxury rental property manager in New Jersey and Manhattan. Styponias speaks English, and is conversational in Greek and Spanish.
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